From upping parking prices to turning to Queen’s Park, mayoral candidates try to explain how they’d pay for transit

It was a banner day for transit talk on Tuesday, as mayoral candidates tried to explain how they would pay for massive projects. The Post’s Natalie Alcoba runs through the various proposals.

Stintz: Charge more for parking in city lots

Mayoral candidate Karen Stintz wants to charge drivers an extra $3 to park in downtown Green P lots to raise money for the subway Relief Line and other transportation projects. The midtown councillor unveiled a $1.6-billion, 15-year funding plan on Tuesday that relies mostly on redirecting $1-billion in revenues already collected by the city from traffic enforcement and the Toronto Parking Authority. Her plan calls for the sale of more than half of Toronto Hydro. The parking levy on daily weekday rates would raise about $114-million over 15 years, the campaign said. “I’m here today to declare a war not on the car, a war on congestion,” said Ms. Stintz, taking a few shots at her rivals John Tory, Olivia Chow and Rob Ford. Ms. Stintz’s plan relies on $68-million a year from the parking authority and traffic enforcement that is used for other things in the budget. The city would also be losing about $22-million in annual dividends when it sells Toronto Hydro. “Obviously we can’t create a hole and then raise property taxes – that’s not going to happen,” she told reporters. “We will have to re-look at our priorities.”

Chow: Cancel Scarborough subway for LRT, borrow the money for other transit priorities

Olivia Chow is prepared to swap a property tax hike earmarked for the Scarborough subway for one that would help address the transit system’s repair backlog, or build a downtown relief line, or both — but only if the federal and provincial governments pitch in too. In a keynote address at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Ms. Chow reiterated she would cancel the Scarborough subway and its associated 1.6% property tax levy for a light rail plan. Instead of taking on $1-billion in debt for a subway, she would borrow the money for other transit priorities, and pay it back with essentially the same tax plan, her campaign said, if the upper levels of government come to the table. This scheme would drive property taxes beyond the rate of inflation, her campaign acknowledged, even though she had promised previously not to. Ms. Chow also wants Queen’s Park to return to paying for some of the TTC’s operating costs because it’s the “right” thing to do. “We can’t have a national conversation [about funding] led by a mayor who either doesn’t know the truth about transit, or won’t tell it,” she said. Ms. Stintz accused Ms. Chow of unleashing a “war on taxpayers” but Ms. Stintz voted in favour of the 1.6% tax hike for the Scarborough subway. So did Mayor Rob Ford last year, but then he voted against actually imposing the tax the budget time.

John Tory: Build the Downtown Relief Line — and do it faster

John Tory continues to hammer home that he will make building the downtown relief line a priority, but will not tell voters how he would pay for it or how he would speed up construction until after the provincial budget is released. He stressed he would not raise property taxes beyond the rate of inflation and vowed not to be “ripping up agreements with other governments, lecturing them about their moral obligation and re-opening old debates.” Ms. Chow has said that the DRL is not slated to open until 2031, a date that comes from Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency. “2031 is crazy,” said Mr. Tory perusing a congestion exhibit at the North York Civic Centre. “Olivia Chow says it won’t get done until 2031, it won’t get done until 2031. I reject that. We’re going to do it faster.”